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Thursday, May 5, 2016

This mini-biography tells the story of two Jewish partisans in Poland who fought in Chiel Grynspan's unit and later married one another.

Jewish partisans Rose Duman and Joe Holm were born in neighboring villages near Zaliscze, Poland. In 1941, Germans killed Joe's mother and five brothers, as well as 20 other members of his family. At 19, he entered the forest, where he knew other Jews were gathering.

Joe Holm met Chiel Grynspan and other partisans in the forest, where he proved himself skilled with a gun, and adept at demolition. Holm had two roles: his extensive knowledge of the forest and local villages made Holm an invaluable guide for his group. Holm also traveled in and out of the forest, finding food and medical supplies necessary for the unit's survival.

Near Zaliscze, Rose’s family owned a prosperous farm, where Joe would often stay overnight on Shabbat. When partisan groups began allowing a few women to join, Joe appeared on Rose's doorstep. He said, “I'm going; you come with me.”

As partisans, Rose and Joe carried out dozens of missions. Once, traveling with a Polish general into the forest, their group was ambushed. Joe and Rose ran through gunfire, and managed to deliver the General safely to the camp. Later, Rose found bullet holes through her sweater, as a testament to their narrow escape. In another narrow escape, Joe Holm and his cousin Jack Pomeranc stood before a firing squad with 80 other partisans, and prepared to be executed. Just before the signal to fire was given, Joe said, “Watch me, and do what I do.” He wrestled a gun from a German soldier and started firing. Joe Holm was shot in the arm, but they and two other prisoners escaped. All the rest were killed.

Rose and Joe stayed with the Grynspan unit for the duration of the war, living in the forest for over three years. Later, Rose and Joe married and left Poland for Germany, eventually emigrating to the United States. In New York, they built a family and a successful business. Joe Holm died in 2009. They were married for 65 years.

“We survived with our bare hands,” Rose recalls. “I just wanted to live, to see the end of Hitler,” she adds. “I was angry. It was important to me to do something, before I died.” On teaching the history and legacy of the Jewish partisans, Rose Holm says, “It is important to teach kids to fight back. To speak up.”

JPEF Highlights

Upcoming Events:

March 4, 2018

Jonathan Furst and Sheri Rosenblum will present What are your breaking points? – When and how do you resist?, a student workshop at the Bay Area annual Day of Learning, sponsored by Jewish Family Services' San Francisco Holocaust Center. Holly Starr Cvetich will share the fascinating Jewish partisan story of her mother Sara Rosnow (z’’l), accompanied by Sara's granddaughters Alexa Brown and Rachel Cvetich.

March 8-10, 2018

JPEF's Director of Development and Outreach, Sheri Rosenblum, will be a featured presenter during Casper College's 3 day seminar Through the Eyes of Many: Experiences During the Holocaust". Speaking to both educators and students about the lessons of the Jewish partisans, she will bring the stories of Jewish resistance to Wyoming for the first time.

Partnerships

We are collaborating with Facing History and Ourselves to bring the Jewish partisans to over 80,000 educators in their network. Facing History has integrated many of JPEF's educational materials into their online resource offerings and professional development trainings. A special section of their website is devoted to the study of the Jewish partisans, and features JPEF partisans and active links to JPEF's site.

54 of JPEF's Jewish partisans are now featured in the Personal Stories section of theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Holocaust Encyclopedia. Their vital stories are now being shared with over a million annual visitors to USHMM's website.

Watch for JPEF at the 97th Annual Conference of the National Council for the Social Studies. November 17-19 in San Francisco.

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ASK A PARTISAN

Q: Hello my name is Joshua i would like to know what rifle or weapon that was carried by yall im doing a realistic fiction book and would like to know what weapon was carried on average.–Age 14

A: Starting in December of 1942 I carried two weapons - a rifle and a revolver, both of which were locally available and likely Polish made. Later on, In July of 1943, we received a shipment of Arms from the Red Army via parachute drop. From then on, I began carrying a 'Pe-Pe-Sha' soviet machine gun, a German Luger and 2 hand grenades.

Thank you for the inquiry,

–Frank Blaichman

* * *

Q: What was the social hierarchy like in these partisan groups–Age 15

A: In Russian partisan brigades, different units may have had different protocols, especially the all-Jewish Bielski Otriad. In the Stalinskaya Brigade that I was a part of, many of the partisans had been commanding officers in the Russian Army or were escaped POWs. They generally assumed the positions that they held in the Russian Army. Each brigade had a commanding officer who would appoint battalion heads. All officers were appointed, but you could rise through to other positions like being a scout by volunteering. There was antisemitism in my unit and they treated the Jews a bit differently. Because I was young and Jewish, I had to prove myself.

–Allen Small

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